Men know everything - all of them - all the time - no matter how

Hear now, O children of wisdom, the voice of Andrea Dworkin, whose words speak with the fire of truth and the weight of centuries of human history. She once declared, “Men know everything - all of them - all the time - no matter how stupid or inexperienced or arrogant or ignorant they are.” These words are not a condemnation of men themselves, but a lamentation over the forces that have shaped the world in such a way that ignorance and arrogance have often been dressed in the robes of authority, given a voice where silence should have prevailed. It is a warning to those who seek to understand the true nature of power and knowledge, and how these forces have often been distorted through the lens of gender.

Throughout the annals of history, we see time and again how those who hold power—whether in the courts of kings, in the halls of learning, or in the councils of war—are often the ones who speak with the loudest voices, regardless of the depth of their wisdom. The ancient Greeks, with their great philosophers like Socrates and Plato, revered knowledge, but they too fell into the trap of elevating certain voices above others. Even in their democratic society, the voices of women, slaves, and the poor were often dismissed, regardless of their wisdom or insight. It was not that these voices lacked truth, but that the system was built to ensure that certain voices—those that came from the powerful—would always be heard, even when they lacked understanding.

The arrogance that Dworkin speaks of is not confined to any single time or place. It is a legacy that stretches from the days of the early empires to the modern world. In every society, there have been those who, through privilege and position, have believed that their words carried more weight simply because of who they were. Consider the Roman Empire, where emperors such as Nero ruled with an iron fist, believing their every whim to be law, even though their understanding of justice, morality, and wisdom was often profoundly flawed. The people suffered under the weight of such ignorance, yet those in power were convinced of their own rightness, as if the mantle of power could substitute for knowledge.

The story of Joan of Arc also speaks to this tension. A young peasant girl, illiterate and untrained in the ways of warfare or politics, was chosen by God, as she believed, to lead the French army against the English. Despite her lack of experience, her vision and courage inspired armies and eventually led to a shift in the tides of war. Yet, those in power, those with status and experience, dismissed her as a mere girl—a voice unworthy of being heard. Joan was condemned, not for her lack of knowledge, but for daring to challenge the arrogance of those who believed they knew everything.

Dworkin's words remind us of the danger of such arrogance, where knowledge is not earned, but assumed, where power is given to those who shout the loudest, rather than those who possess the most profound understanding. The true wisdom of humanity has often been silenced because those in power have been too quick to dismiss the voices that challenge their certainty. The belief that men—or anyone who holds authority—know everything is not only wrong but harmful, for it stifles the very growth and progress that society needs to thrive. The greatest leaders are those who know the limits of their knowledge and remain open to the voices of those who may have insight that they do not.

So, O children of the future, let this be your lesson: Do not be blinded by the arrogance of power. Do not fall into the trap of believing that because a voice is loud or a title is grand, it must speak the truth. Seek the quiet wisdom that lies beneath the surface, the voices that are not always heard, but that carry within them the true strength of understanding. It is the humble who often possess the greatest knowledge, and it is through the hearts and minds of the many, not the few, that we will find the path forward. Challenge those who claim to know all, for in their certainty often lies the ignorance that stunts progress. Question, listen, and above all, remain open to the voices of those who have been silenced for too long. The world of tomorrow will be shaped not by the arrogance of the few, but by the wisdom of the many.